May is quickly on its way, accompanied by rain, flowers, and, very soon, graduation caps and gowns. On May 11 Columbus College of Art & Design will celebrate nearly 250 graduating CCAD students as they cross the stage of the historic Ohio Theatre and receive their hard-earned diplomas.

Columbus College of Art & Design welcomes artist and sculptor Mel Chin to deliver the commencement address on May 11 at the Ohio Theatre to more than 200 CCAD graduating seniors and master of fine arts graduates.

Chin is a visual artist inspired by political, cultural, and social circumstances. He is known for his broad range of approaches, including works that require multidisciplinary, collaborative teamwork and works that conjoin cross-cultural aesthetics with complex ideas.

“Mel Chin’s choice to incorporate advocacy, activism, and social responsibility into his artwork is a key message for our graduates to hear as they begin to chart their professional careers,” said Dennison W. Griffith, president of CCAD. “Commencement is a celebration and an opportunity for CCAD to share one more lesson with the students who have spent the last several years developing their creative talents on our campus and are now ready to become leaders in the art and design fields.”

Chin insinuates art into unlikely places, investigating how it can provoke greater social awareness and responsibility. Chin created and developed Revival Field, a project that has been a pioneer in the field of “green remediation,” the use of plants to remove toxic heavy metals from the soil. In KNOWMAD, Chin worked with software engineers to create a video game based on rug patterns of nomadic people facing cultural disappearance.

Chin’s work was documented in the popular PBS program Art of the 21st Century. He has received numerous awards and grants from organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council for the Arts, Art Matters, Creative Capital, and the Penny McCall, Pollock/Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Rockefeller, and Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundations.

More than 200 Columbus College of Art & Design students graced the stage of the historic Ohio Theatre to receive their diplomas on Saturday, May 12, 2012. The 133rd annual spring commencement, in downtown Columbus, included an address by commencement speaker Mark Kvamme of JobsOhio.

The students returned the recognition giving a standing ovation to all faculty and staff that assisted them along their journey. President Dennison W. Griffith gave the students a farewell message that earned a spontaneous round of applause when he encouraged graduates to be nuanced, and spread love in the world.

Family and friends greet the class of 2012 after commencement.

The 2012 class valedictorian is Industrial Design major Joel Van Gilder and the college honored the following 10 students with the distinction of Outstanding Senior in their area of study.

Valedictorian Sean Blanton was also named Outstanding Senior for the Photography department.

Photography senior Sean Blanton (CCAD 2011) has been named the valedictorian for the graduating class of 2011. Blanton will be honored during the commencement ceremony, Saturday, May 14, at The Ohio Theatre.

Pickerington, OH native Sean Blanton, 22, was named the 2011 Outstanding Senior for the Photography department at Columbus College of Art & Design. Blanton is the son of Charles and Diana Blanton and a 2007 graduate of Pickerington North High School.

He has accepted a retouching position at Lane Bryant to begin upon graduation.

In honor of the 233 students who will receive diplomas at CCAD’s 132nd annual spring commencement, we’ll be counting down the days to commencement by publishing interviews with our 10 Outstanding Seniors and we’ll be announcing the class valedictorian(s).

And while we don’t know who is at the top of the class just yet (final grades are yet to be submitted), we do know who has been named the outstanding seniors for 2011. They are: Jordan Edwards, Advertising & Graphic Design; Chelsea Mummert, Animation; Carolyn Martin, Fashion Design; Kenneth Aschliman, Fine Arts; Graham Erwin, Illustration; Phong Nguyen, Illustration; Ryan Slicer, Industrial Design; Justin Highlander, Interior Design; Taehee Lee, Media Studies; and Sean Blanton, Photography.

Also coming along for the commencement ride is alumnus Mike Altman (CCAD 2000), who will deliver the commencement address. Altman worked as a technical director in modeling and articulation on Pixar’s Academy Award winning Toy Story 3 and was also responsible for modeling and articulating all the 3D characters for Day & Night, the short at the beginning of the film,which was also nominated for an Academy Award. Learn more in our blog, Alumnus, Pixar Animator Slated to Deliver Commencement Address.

Check back Monday, May 2 as we introduce you to Illustration senior Graham Erwin. We’ll publish one a day (on school days) through Friday, May 13.

Mike Altman will deliver the commencement address to the class of 2011 on May 14.

Media Studies alumnus Mike Altman (CCAD 2000) has made us proud. In addition to working as a technical director in modeling and articulation on Pixar’s Academy Award winning Toy Story 3, he was also responsible for modeling and articulating all the 3D characters for Day & Night, the short at the beginning of the film,which was also nominated for an Academy Award. For these accomplishments, Altman was asked to come back to Columbus to deliver the commencement speech to the Class of 2011—a task he says he’s honored to do.

“It is hard to describe what an honor it is to be called back to speak with the students on their own commencement day,” Altman said. “My career achievements have been very hard-won, and I think the faculty at CCAD had a big hand in preparing me for the battle. It’s neat to have them still following up with me, seeing how my career is progressing, still involved and engaged after all these years. It is a testament to how close-knit a community we are at CCAD.”

“I remember graduation day very vividly—my name being called, walking onto the stage to shake President Griffith’s hand,” he continued. “I remember faculty literally cheering me on as my name was called to receive my diploma. I was so excited to graduate, yet a little anxious about what would come next.”

“Now that the tables are turned, and I am on the commencement speaker side, all of those questions I had about my future have been answered. I achieved what my goals were. I’ve found out ‘what happened’ in my story, and, in a way, I’m coming back to CCAD to reassure the students to continue to work hard, so they will get to achieve their goals too.”

Day & Night is an animated short film shown in theaters before the feature film Toy Story 3. Starring the keepers of daylight and darkness, it was described by the New York Times as “…a charming little movie about two characters, opposites in temperament and outlook, hostile at the start, who gradually learn not only to find delight in each other, but also to appreciate how much they have in common. This film is whimsical, inventive, crammed with visual virtuosity, and six minutes long.”

Altman works at Pixar Animation Studios, where he is currently doing character concept modeling for a feature film to be released the summer of 2013. He recently finished sets modeling work on Cars 2, which will open this June.

In addition to his BFA from CCAD, Altman holds an MFA from The Ohio State University. He previously worked as a 3D concept artist at LAIKA Entertainment in Portland, Oregon, and on the animated feature film The Ant Bully at DNA Productions in Dallas, Texas.

Learn more about Altman on his website. Click here to go behind-the-scenes of Day & Night.

And if you’re a graduating senior—or just want to cheer them on as they take their last steps as students and their first steps as alumni—check out our events page for more information.